A Better Name
by B. K. Siver
Summary: Levi always calls Hanji names except her given one. When the kids think he's being too harsh on the scientist, Hanji begins to explain why she'll always prefer his dorky nicknames over him calling her by her real one.


Hanji ran to the dinner hall where she promised Eren, Armin, and Mikasa to meet. "I can't believe I'm running late!" Well, she could believe it. It was more of a rhetorical statement. Being late was normal for her.

The wild haired soldier had been frantically researching the night before, wondering if titan shifting had been a thing before. Surely, she thought, that perhaps there were others like Eren? After all, titans had been around for at least 100 years. Chances are there are others like him, or at least, there were.

When she slammed the door open, hoping that only the kids were in the dinner hall.

They weren't.

"You're late, Shitty Glasses," Levi scolded, "Don't you know it's rude to make guests wait?" She wasn't surprised he was there.

_He's going to kill me, _she scolded herself.

Before she could respond, Eren chimed in. "It's OK, Captain! We didn't mind waiting at all," the green-eyed boy assured.

The clean freak groaned as he began leaving the room. "Don't tire them out too much, Four Eyes," he ordered. He knew better than to stay and listen to one of her lectures.

Hanji smiled and waved Levi goodbye, dropping the notes in her arms while doing so. She frantically fell to the ground, picking them up hastily. The kids were quick to help her out, organizing her notes into a neat pile. She and the others could have sworn that there was a subtle "Idiot Glasses" through the hallway.

"You really let the captain talk to you like that?" Armin asked, sitting at the table. Eren and Mikasa followed suit. "It sounds a bit harsh, don't you think?

The scientist chuckled. Did they really think she was getting bullied? "You kids don't have to worry!" she assured them, "When Levi calls me 'Shitty Glasses,' it's really a term of endearment." She sighed, not heavily, but somewhat happily, almost sounding relieved. "It's when he calls me 'Hanji' that I know he's serious about something." Eren, Armin, and Mikasa looked puzzled. "It's always been like that, you see, ever since he first came here."

* * *

_Though the forest seemed dark, the sun shined brightly through the trees, the light showing a little purity. It was a perfect day to kill Titans, Hanji noted. She and her comrades were in the branches, waiting, hunting, for their kill. The branches served as their hiding spot. They knew that Titans would be unable to reach them. _

_Hanji looked up toward the sky, able to see a little light make its way through the leaves. She couldn't help but awe at the perfection of the beauty of nature as well as the beauty of dead Titans. However, she noticed that clouds began forming, their speed incredible. _

_It was unsettling. _

_Her comrades began to panic, but she assured them to stay calm, that it was just a rain storm. However, even she began to grow more and more nervous as the forest got blacker and blacker, until she couldn't even see right in front of her. _

_The situation worsened when thumps began echoing in the forest. _

_It was sinister. _

_Squad members began to scream, terrified of being unable to see what was in front of them. They knew they were titans. They were terrified. _

_She was terrified. She was panicking. She couldn't see anything. _

_Hanji wanted to calm her friends down, but she was kidding herself. She wasn't even able to keep her cool. She felt her breaths becoming shorter, more frantic, as though she were choking. Her body shook as she began to sweat, feeling like she was burning. As her teammates began to fall, her heart began pounding, wanting to fly out of her chest. _

_Everything hurt so much. She only wanted it to end, for the sun to come back. _

_And so it did. The forest returned to its peaceful state, almost like nothing happened. _

_Almost. _

_Tree branches were broken, completely vacant of any soldier. All Hanji could do now was look for any survivors. _

_But she knew it was hopeless. _

_She flew through the forest mechanically, completely lost in her mind. Everyone was gone, she realized._

_However, as she zipped through the forest, she saw a familiar figure by a tree. Short, black hair, a small stature, and a cravat were all she had to see. Hanji immediately landed by him, somewhat cheerful that he was alright. _

_"Levi!" she exclaimed happily, "I'm so glad you're—" _

_The soldier couldn't move, couldn't speak. She was paralyzed with shock. _

_He was dead. _

_"No… no!" she screamed, "Irwin had high faith in you! I had faith in you!" Tears began forming as she shook Levi's body, desperately trying to revive him. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake—"_

Hanji suddenly woke, gasping, as though she had been choking, her eyes wide open. She was sweating and shivering. _It was just a dream, _she told herself.

The soldier sat up and tried to take deep breaths. "It was just a dream!" she tried to assure herself calmly. She looked at her hand and couldn't stop shaking. Her body was cold, but the sweat made her hot.

_I need to calm down, _she assured herself, _It was just a dream._

None of the relaxing exercises worked. Hanji was still frozen, completely terrified of the fact that, somehow, Levi was not alright.

The death of her comrades was not new to her. In fact, she came to terms with their deaths and the fact that she and anyone else she knew could die at any moment. However, Levi was different.

She wouldn't admit it to his face, but she had just as much faith in him as Irwin did. Ever since he was assigned to her, she felt hope for humanity. Sure, he was still uncooperative with others and he doesn't look out for anyone other than himself, but she felt that he was starting to learn what it meant to be a soldier.

He still had a long way to go, though. Being from the streets, Levi had a hard time trusting people and didn't consider anyone as his friend, especially her. In fact, he calls everyone else by their names, but with her, it's either "Four Eyes" or "Shitty Glasses." Hanji didn't even know if he knew her name, or rather, remembered it.

She got up from her bed and left her room, looking catatonic. Her motions seemed mechanical and uncontrolled by her, like a titan. Before she knew it, Hanji was outside of Levi's room, staring at his door. _Am I really going to knock on his door in the middle of the night? _She couldn't believe that she was acting on this kind of impulse after a nightmare. Still, she wanted to make sure that he was alright.

Before she could even knock, the door opened. "You should walk quieter," a familiar groan noted. "It's the middle of the night, Shitty Glasses. What the fuck is so important right now?" Levi wasn't mad, just annoyed.

Before anything could be said, Hanji embraced the young man, tears streaming down her face. She knew he was getting his shirt dirty, but she didn't care. He was alright. Before he could say anything, she tried talking. "I-I know you can't p-promise you won't die," she managed to say, "But can you… Can you at least promise me that you'll fight to stay alive?"

Levi was shocked. No one had ever held him like this, had ever cried for him like this. What could he say? "You'll wake everyone up," was the best he could think of, calmly loosening her grip on him, "Come in if you're going to cry like that."

He walked her into his room, being sure to quietly close the door behind them. Hanji stood in the middle of his room, crying and not moving. He brought her to his bed, making her sit down. Levi couldn't think of anything else to say or do. The male soldier wasn't even sure if anyone had seen her cry like this. She was known for being hateful and angry, not emotional and sad.

She was still sobbing, using her hands to cover her face. She was attempting to silence her cries._ I can't bear to look at him, _she thought to herself, disgusted that she was acting like a child.

After what felt like ages, Hanji finally calmed down enough to where she could speak. "P-Please, Levi," she pleaded, "I know you don't care about me, but… But please promise that you'll never stop fighting!" The young soldier could feel tears forming again.

Was she serious? The young man was in disbelief. Not once in his life has anyone ever cared for him enough to ask for something like that. He thought for a bit, unsure of what to say. Levi finally responded. "What brought this on, Four Eyes?" he asked, trying to be his normal, off-putting self. "Don't tell me you had a bad dream."

Hanji's eyes grew wide as she began to shiver again. "It… It felt so real… I thought… I thought you were…" she couldn't even finish her sentence.

Levi didn't want to hear her cry anymore. "I promise," he answered quickly.

"W-what?" the woman asked.

"If it'll get you stop crying, I promise to never stop fighting."

"Thank you," Hanji smiled, relieved at that idea. She figures he was just saying that to get her to stop crying, but it helped her feel better nonetheless. "Sorry I woke you up," she apologized, her voice hoarse and dry, "I'll leave you alone." She got up and began heading for the door before anything else could be said. Hanji didn't want to make the situation any more awkward.

"—if you want, Hanji."

The young woman stopped, not sure of what she just heard. "What did you say?" Levi would never say her name.

The black haired soldier sighed. "I said you can stay in here for the night, if you want, Hanji. You can have my bed. I'll sleep on the floor." His expression was still his normal, calm, and cold self, but the woman realized that he was trying to be nice.

She couldn't believe it. "You know my name?" she asked, more amazed that he bothered to remember her name.

The young man scoffed. "Of course I know it! I've known you for months now!"

"Why haven't you said it before?"

At first, Levi didn't know what to say. What could he say? He had known this woman for a good while now and had spent a lot of time with her, yet had always called her "Shitty Glasses" or "Four Eyes." "I didn't trust you," he answered, leaving it at that and nothing more.

"What changed your mind?"

"No one has ever cried for me before." Hanji didn't say anything, so Levi continued to explain. "Before I came here, I was always alone. Nobody cared for me and I cared for no one. But, I'm starting to see that that's not how things work here. You've shown me that."

The woman smiled, walking back to the bed and laying down. As Levi grabbed his things to sleep on the floor, Hanji grabbed his arm. "Just for tonight," she began, "Could you lay here with me?" She knew it was a silly request. If someone were to see them, just her being in his room at this hour, it could easily give off the wrong idea.

"Fine, but I don't want you to start crying again," he replied, not hesitating on his answer, much to her surprise.

The two had their backs facing each other, but Hanji was OK with that. Just being close to him like this made her finally feel assured. "Levi?"

The male soldier groaned. "What."

"You're a good friend," she smiled.

Levi didn't say anything, not at first. She could tell he had never been told this before, had ever been close enough to anyone where they would tell him this. "Whatever."

Hanji noticed that the way he said it was different from before. It was less cold and more open, friendlier. Maybe, she liked to think, that he was even smiling, just a little bit. She giggled at the thought and drifted to sleep.

* * *

"Y-You've slept in his room before?!" Eren exclaimed. "Couldn't you have gotten trouble?"

The scientist smiled. "Sure, if we had gotten caught," she explained, "But on that night, Levi showed that he genuinely cared and was willing to take risks, what it means to be a soldier." As she talked about it, the kids were sure that she was glowing, practically blushing. "Ever since then, he's been giving these weird nicknames to me in an effort to not call me 'Hanji," she continued, "I think it's sweet."

Hanji spent hours talking about her research with the kids before realizing how late it had gotten. She could see how tired they were. "We can continue another day," she smiled gently, scrunching up her notes and books.

The woman waved the kids goodbye and headed to her room to continue her research. _I'm on a hot track, _she thought to herself, _I can't stop now! _

Once she got in her room, she practically ran to her desk, getting out her notes and books. The scientist was sure that she'd hardly get sleep tonight again, but she was OK with that. Research like this could benefit humanity.

Suddenly, her door slammed open. The woman wasn't surprised or shocked. Hanji could tell who it was just by his footsteps. Without even looking at him, she asked, "Levi, do you realize what time it is? What if I'd been sleeping?" He seemed quieter than usual, but she figured he was going to lecture her to go to bed. After all, it was the middle of the night.

Levi ignored her comment, not saying anything. She thought it odd. Usually, he would make a smart comment. Tonight, though, he was quiet. Hanji stood up and turned around.

He wasn't his normal self.

Although he was doing his best, humanity's best soldier had a familiar look on him. He was breathing heavily, his body was lightly glistened in sweat, and he was shivering. The soldier couldn't even look at her, making an effort to look down at her messy floor rather than her.

"Levi? Is everything alright?' the woman asked, worried about her friend. She had never seen him look so scared. Sure, she had seen him look guilty, but never this terrified. It made her uncomfortable.

Before she could process what was happening, the soldier pulled her into an embrace, afraid to let her go.

"Hanji," he muttered, desperately trying to compose himself, "Promise me you'll never stop fighting."

It wasn't a question, but an order.

"I've kept my promise all these years," Levi continued, "So… Do the same for me."

The woman smiled, hugging him as gently as she could, calming him down. "Of course I will," she complied, "If it'll get you to let me go, I promise to never stop fighting."

Levi scoffed, annoyed that she remembered that he had told her something like that years ago. Nonetheless, he gave a sigh of relief and let her go. Although the situation wasn't as awkward as it was years ago, the soldier couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty for making her worry.

Leaving the situation at that, he began to walk out of her room.

"Levi," Hanji exclaimed as she grabbed his hand, "If it'll help you feel better, you can sleep in here for the night."

The man shrugged, "I'm not a baby like you, Four Eyes."

"It helped me feel better," she giggled.

Levi closed the door and collapsed on her bed, feeling much lighter than he had when he walked in her room. "If I sleep in here, then you have to sleep tonight," he said.

Hanji blew her lantern out and lay next to him on her bed, their backs facing each other. Both felt safe and secure, something the two hadn't felt in a long time.

"Hanji?" the captain asked.

"What is it?"

He paused as he put his thoughts together. "Thank you," he said, "For everything."

Although she wasn't facing him, the scientist knew he was content. Hanji was sure that he was even smiling just a little. The brunette giggled at the thought and quickly drifted off to sleep.


End file.
